


holiday mash-up

by froggydarren



Category: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy RPF
Genre: Episode Filming, Fluff, Gen, Holidays, Yuletide 2018, special episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-22 02:19:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17051204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/froggydarren/pseuds/froggydarren
Summary: They're not doing what they normally do. It's the twist in the episode -- like having it holiday themed is not enough -- to have each of them take of the others' role.Karamo can't help but wonder if this was a good idea. But at least it's fun.





	holiday mash-up

**Author's Note:**

  * For [obstinatrix](https://archiveofourown.org/users/obstinatrix/gifts).



"It seriously can't be that hard. Tan always makes it look so easy to just find a store, bring the person in, then choose clothes that fit better than what they used to wear," Bobby says and sighs as he scrolls down the list of clothing stores in the area. 

Karamo chuckles, but then echoes the exasperated sigh while his won laptop screen has a recipe on it and he narrows his eyes at the list of ingredients. Then he closes the tab and looks at the empty screen.

"It also shouldn't he this hard to find a decent holiday recipe," he says. "All I want it something that's not egg nog."

They both slump in their chairs and look up at the ceiling. It's covered with green and red streamers, a few baubles here and there from Bobby's decoration spree. It's only a few weeks to Christmas and while not all of them celebrate, it was necessary for this special episode. 

Because they're doing a makeover for Santa. Well, not really Santa, but Chris, a 60-year-old single man who acts as Santa Claus in the tiny village that the Fab Five's latest trip has taken them to. It's one of the smaller places, where everyone knows everyone, and where Chris can't lose his image even outside of the holiday season. Because there are kids who see him out and about, all of whom are growing up with the "secret" that Santa Claus really lives in their village and not on the North Pole. 

It's a massive part of their tradition, one that Chris happily plays along with, his hair having gone white early in his life. He'd taken the role over years ago, replaced the previous Chris Kringle -- not that that's his legal name -- and stepped into the Santa Claus shoes. 

"At least you don't need to be looking for clothes in very distinct holiday colors," Bobby mutters, refusing to look at the screen. "I think I'm going to go crazy from trying to find something that doesn't look like a summer version of a Christmas jumper."

"I wonder how Jonathan is doing," Karamo mumbles into the silence of the loft, only a few quiet sounds of jingle bells interrupting it from outside. 

"He's having the time of his life, apparently," Tan says, walking into the room. "Something about finally being able to let his holiday spirit shine and use as much glitter as he wants to." 

"Oh no," Bobby groans at the thought. 

They've been tasked with decorating the hut that the village uses for the children's visits to Santa, a small structure just around the corner from the local church.  So instead of going all out on a personal residence, Jonathan gets to play with the decor that is nothing but an explosion of the holiday spirit.

It's a special episode, one supposed to go live during the holidays. And since just filming a regular episode that's holiday themed was not enough, the producers decided to shake things up a little more. 

Karamo, obviously, was given the food section -- he ignored Antoni's horrified look rather pointedly. Bobby is on fashion and struggling more than he thought he would. Tan is just back from the hair salon where he'd brought Chris to get his beard trimmed and cleaned up. Jonathan jumped right at the change to throw glitter and streamers at everything. He's been sketching ideas for the layout of the room and scouring through flea markets and garage sales for worn and pre-loved baubles and other decorations. Antoni, meanwhile, gets to spend the most time with Chris, letting him talk through why he agreed to this gig as easily as he did, and why he sometimes feels like giving it all up and putting the responsibilities of it all aside. 

"Maybe you should--" Tan starts, glancing at Bobby's laptop screen and the site of yet another store that's apparently only interested in the themed sweaters part of the holidays.

"No helping, play by the rules, Tan," Karamo tells him as Bobby slams the laptop shut. "It's for a good cause, after all." 

"Excuse me for not wanting this to be a complete disaster," Tan says, looking put out. "I'll just let you two do your thing. Or not your thing, as the case may be." 

Then he sits on the couch and grabs himself a drink from the coffee table, obviously done for the day and not keen on going anywhere else, since he'll need to be around for solo shots and narration later. 

Karamo turns back to his own laptop and starts scrolling again, exasperated as he looks at the notes he took from his talk with Chris, trying to find something that fits the man's skill level and still has a holiday theme. 

"Cookies, I guess. It's gonna have to be cookies," he mumbles to himself. 

It takes another hour before he finds one that's appropriately easy, has an element of fun that will let him incorporate his regular role in the team -- life coaching -- and can be made holiday-themed easily with some help from icing. Instead of overthinking it, he prints out the recipe and heads out to get the ingredients so he can bake a test batch. 

When he gets back to the loft, Jonathan is back too, poring over furniture catalogues and looking at swatches of what looks like blankets and cushion covers. Tan is peeking over his shoulder and grinning with glee. Bobby has vanished somewhere -- Karamo figures he's gone to actually check out the stores he found in Atlanta, rather than sticking to the ones online. 

"Don't mess up Antoni's kitchen," Tan shouts when Karamo starts setting up at the oven and counter. 

"I'm pretty sure that would require not touching it at all," Karamo says. "Wanna get your hands dirty?"

"And have you throw flour on my head because you think I need to loosen up a little?" 

Karamo tries to school his expression into one that says that he would never, but he knows Tan's right. Jonathan, however, slams his laptop shut and leaves his swatches on the coffee table, then strides over, already pulling his hair into a bun.

"Do I get an apron that says 'Kiss the Queen'?" 

Both of them chuckle and Karamo shakes his head, but then he pulls out the aprons that he knew to be stashed in one of the cupboards. 

"No attacking Tan," he tells Jon. "But he also doesn't get cookies after."

"Like I'd want any that you make," Tan calls out from his spot on the couch, obviously comfortable and attention on his phone. 

The first batch of the cookies goes about as well as Tan predicts. Half of them are burned, the other half still mostly raw. The second one is better, since Karamo focuses on the instructions more. The third one is actually edible, at least before they put the icing on. That takes another few tries to get right, but the final result is tastier than any one of them expected, and it fits the episode theme. 

The final two days of filming are a whirlwind. Jonathan's design ends up looking like a fairy tale gingerbread house that, when he turns on the lights that are scattered around, looks pretty magical. Bobby has managed to stick to earthy tones with splashes of red and clothing that absolutely is something that Santa Claus would wear on his days off.

"You might even find a Mrs. or Mr. Claus in this snazzy sweater, Chris," Tan comments, fixing the white beard and handing Chris new, more stylish glasses that fit perfectly.

Chris himself seems like he rediscovered the reasons why he chose to do this, like he's looking forward to keeping the holiday magic alive for the kids who look up to him. Karamo can't help but beam with pride. 

The cookies, in the end, become a team effort. There is no food fight -- though flour does seem to be everywhere -- and the decorations on some of the cookies end up not suitable for being on camera. But they taste delicious and Chris looks like he'll know how to do them without the coaching. 

"You guys made me realize that this is a good thing to do," he tells them, when they settle on the couches in the cottage. "With everything else going on, and despite some of you not celebrating Christmas the way we do here, you've made me want to keep going, keep being what the kids here need me to be." 

"Well, Santa," Jonathan says with a grin. "You gonna show us the full effect?"

"You just want to sit on my lap, don't you?" Chris asks, eyes glinting with amusement. "I am pretty sure you're on the naughty list this year though," he adds, watching as Jonathan's mouth opens in protest. 

"Come on, let's see if we can get this holiday season started," Karamo says. "We'll keep this one from your lap, I promise." 

They get to turn the lights on, in the end. And they get to watch the entire village, kids and adults alike, light up with smiles.


End file.
